As early as last September, rumors of a new 200-treadwear, autocross-focused tire were pretty much confirmed when the prototype Falken RT660's were seen being tested at the SCCA Solo Nationals. With Falken having the contract for the popular and competitve SCCA Solo-Spec-Coupe (SSC) class, they really needed to put forth a new tire as the Falken RT615-K+ just doesn’t have the grip to compete with the top-performing street-tires, the Bridgestone RE-71R, the new Yokohama Advan A052, and the BF Goodrich Rival-S.
So last evening, Grassroots Motorsports put forth an article to see how the new RT660 stacks up. The result? It seems that the RT660 has closed the gap to the top tires and will probably be the most affordable.
I suggest you click on the link, but the TL/DR of it is that both on their skidpad and autocross course, the RT660 was right on par with the RE-71R. When it came to lapping at a track, the RT660 fell off a tiny bit vs the RE-71R and showed more wear.
Right now, Tirerack only has the RT660 available in the SSC size of 225/45-R17 (You need an SCCA membership) but Falken appears to be releasing it in a number of sizes from 14" to 19" wheels and according to the article, other sizes should start being available by the end of the month.
Below is a quick comparison of pricing in 225/45-R17:
- Falken RT660: $136.88
- BFG Rival-S 1.5: $164.89
- Bridgestone RE-71R: $179.06
- Yokohama Advan A052: $194.32
For the price, they will certainly be something I would consider. I’m looking forward to some 265/35-R18's to be available as I could use a new set of tires on one of my spare sets of wheels. Falken has made a solid push to get back into the competitive world that is the 200-Treadwear tire.
The author, who goes by Joe in real life, is an avid automotive enthusiast with a particular passion for Mazda rotaries. You can find him at many Western New York SCCA and surrounding area events autocrossing his RX-8. He can be reached at AkursedX@gmail.com (If you are an automotive company and want to give me free stuff to write about, let me know!) More of what I’ve written can be found here: CLICK HERE